The rantings of an average, ordinary guy.

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Monthly Archives: July 2009

According to ESPN, former Green Bay Packers and New York Jets quarterback Brett Favre will remain retired. Word was that the Minnesota Vikings and he were discussing his possible return to the NFL after retiring last year from his one season in New York.

Favre recently underwent surgery to repair a torn biceps tendon, but his legs and ankles continue to bother him. As he stated in the ESPN article, “The things that bothered me, bothered me a little more. It takes longer to recover — if you do recover.” Personally, I don’t blame him.

Although Lance did not win the Yellow Jersey in this year’s Tour de France, he finished third overall and stood on the podium. His teammate, Alberto Contador, did go home wearing the Yellow Jersey this year, though. Both riders completed the Tour on Trek bicycles.

Although Lance’s announcement about leaving Astana and forming his own team did not surprise many of us, it was good to see him continue focusing on the Tour. His performance was impressive for someone that retired. Finishing third and being a team player showed that he is a true sportsman. I look forward to seeing him lead Team Radio Shack to another Tour de France win in 2010. Way to go Lance!

Alberto Contador, Team Astana and Lance’s teammate, won today’s Le Tour de France stage and finished a couple of minutes ahead of yesterday’s leaders (Nocentini and Hincapie), which puts him in the yellow jersey (“maillot jaune” if you speak French). Today, Alberto leads on two levels: stage win and is now in first overall.

The peloton was about a minute behind the leader when it started the climb. Astana played it cool and kept its pace heading into the climb. When it started into the climb, Lance and Alberto paced it well, allowing Alberto to attack up the mountain. Once he started, there was no slowing down – Contador flew up Verbier – all, of course, on his new Trek Madone.

I’m a Lance Armstrong fan. Anyone that can represent the United States and win the most grueling sport’s greatest race after battling cancer and facing all of the false allegations about doping is worthy of having fans. Being a cyclist, I was very excited when I heard he was coming back – more so than when Brett Favre came out of retirement last year to play for the Jets (hey, I’m a Packers fan first).

There is a lot of great talent on Lance’s team, Team Astana, as well as in the Tour overall. But I’m really rooting for Lance. He’s definitely a true American, and he’s showing that even Americans can handle the pure athleticism of the sport of cycling. I’m sure that this will not be my only post on his progress.

Based on a t-shirt that I own, I thought I’d make my announcement in a similar fashion. After not riding for over a month, I’m back on the bike.

My intention was to get out for an easy-pace ride for about 30 minutes. I definitely got 30 minutes in, but there wasn’t anything easy-paced about this ride after the first 5 minutes. Although I started off slow, it felt so good that instead of maintaining a slow speed, I decided to kick it up a notch. Perhaps I did that a bit too soon.